Blue Jays Minor League Depth – Second Base

Apr 3, 2014; St. Petersburg, FL, USA; Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Maicer Izturis (3) forces out Tampa Bay Rays third baseman Evan Longoria (3) and throws the ball to first for a double play during the third inning at Tropicana Field. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

Bounce Backs

–Maicer Izturis– Turn back the clock

Last season Izturis ended up winning the job at second base and appeared to be on his way to having a decent season until an injury struck. In 11 games to start the season he was hitting .286 and was yet to commit an error. Things were looking up for him after a rough 2012 season but then he suffered the season ending ligament tear in his knee. Heading into spring training he is looking to show he can be an everyday player still. Now that he is 100% he will be in consideration for the second base opening with Ryan Goins and Devon Travis as the other likely candidates.

Toronto Blue Jays

Long Shots

–Ryan Schimpf– What will it be this year?

Since being drafted in the 5^th round in 2009 Schimpf has been inconsistent. Having mixed years with some good and bad it’s hard to tell what player he actually is. For example in 2012 he batted .269 between the A+ and AA levels and the following year in just AA he hit .210. That trend continued in a split season with the AA and AAA teams. In 2014 he was hitting well in AA with a .270 batting average only to be promoted to AAA and hit .189. He appears to have a lot of power seeing he has hit at least 20 home runs the past 3 years. He strikes out more often than you would like and doesn’t walk much. If he could change his approach at the plate to look at more pitches he could turn that batting average around. That will also improve the rest of his offense and possibly even more home runs. He has jumped around position to position but I see him as a second baseman.

All Statistic information provided by baseball-reference.com.

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